Stars in the Sky
by Robin10
Summary: (Chapter 6 is up!) Christine's little brother is kidnapped by pirates and to save him she must give them a map she never knew she possesed. And so enters our beloved heros.
1. Just Another Ordinary Day

A/N: I don't know if this has been done before. I came up with this idea on my own and if it resembles any other work then I truly apologize. I rated this PG for mild violence and mild crude humor. Let me first say that I love Treasure Planet! So, why not write a fan fic about it? Right? Well, let's get the ball rolling!

Chapter 1: Just another Ordinary Day

The sun had just risen over the vast mining planet of Montressor but could barley be seen behind the huge dark storm clouds hovering overhead. It was seven in the morning and a young teenage girl around the age of seventeen lay perfectly still in slumber under her cool sheets. She had brown hair with a hint of red, big blue eyes, and tan skin. The sun rose even more and the light streaked through one of the clouds and pierced through her bedroom window and straight into her sleeping face. She squinted her eyes shut and grabbed her pillow, placing it over her head. Then, something big ran and plummeted down onto her mattress causing her to wake up, startled, and plummeted her to the floor with a sickening thud. She groaned as she heard the familiar voice speak to her.

"C'mon, Chris!" called the small boy who was jumping excitedly on her bed. "We have to be at the Benbow Inn in about half an hour! And I know how long it takes you in the bathroom!"

Christine Rogers looked up dazedly at her alarm clock and groaned, burying her face in her pillow that she pulled down with her when she fell. "It's too early, Sam. I don't go to work at the old Benbow until eight thirty." 

"I know! But, today is a big day!" he said as he finally ceased his jumping. 

"What is so wonderful about today?" she asked, her voice still being muffled from the pillow.

"You don't remember? Today is when Jim comes home. And we have to see him. He won't stick around forever you know." He said, placing his small hands on his thin waist. The boy was about eight years old and had crimson hair with sparkling green eyes, and an occasional bossy attitude that come from most little brothers.

At the sound of hearing Jim Hawkins's name she perked up. She hadn't seen him in about four months and wondered what he looked like now. Boy, did she ever wonder what he looked like. After moving to Montressor with her brother, Sam, she quickly got a job at the Benbow Inn. There she met many odd people. Ones in particular was Jim's constantly worrying mother Sarah Hawkins, the crazy but comical android named B.E.N., a playful pink blob named Morph, a nerdy but charming fellow known as Doctor Delbert Doppler, the no non-sense Captain Amelia Doppler, and the Doppler children. But, one person whom she really became close to was Jim Hawkins himself. A student at the Interstellar Academy and, as Captain Amelia would often reply 'A future top notch high ranking officer.' Was she deeply in love with him? No. Did she ever flirt with him? No. Has she ever made a complete fool of herself while trying to make simple conversation with him or trip and fall down right at his feet? Yes. Okay, she had to admit he was pretty nice looking (Fan girls: You got that right!). But, she could never love him. They were just close friends. And that was just how it was going to be.

"Hurry up, Christine! I want to be there when he arrives!" Sam said with frustration.  

"Okay, okay! Just go wait downstairs until I get dressed." She picked herself off the floor as her brother hopped out of the room. Christine, or Chris by some, sighed as she walked to her closet and opened it to see her same old dresses. She pushed one aside after the other. If it looked really nice then it would have a moth hole somewhere. If it was in perfectly good shape, it would be too small. "Note to self: Buy new clothes." She muttered to herself. Finally, she came to a baby blue dress that actually looked acceptable. She quickly slipped it on and modeled herself in front of the mirror. The sleeves came down to her elbows, and the skirt came just a bit off the ground. She smiled but that soon changed when she saw her hair. She ran into the bathroom and vehemently brushed the tangles out, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. Finally, she ran down stairs to see her little brother waiting impatiently with crossed arms and tapping his foot. 

"It's seven fifteen. We've got only fifteen more minutes left until Jim is supposed to arrive." He said, pointing at the clock.

"Alright. Let's be off then." She reached for both their black cloaks hanging on the coat hanger and slipped them on as they walked out the door and out into the cold, damp air.

The walk to the Benbow took about ten minutes. When they walked in, they discovered that Jim hadn't arrived yet, the customers were jabbering on and poor tired Mrs. Hawkins was carrying two platters of hot food on each shoulder. Chris took off her cloak and walked over to Sarah to give her a much needed hand. 

Sarah sighed in relief. "Thanks, Christine. I didn't think that it would get so packed this early. I hope I have enough time to stop and visit with Jim when he gets here. Wait. What are you doing here so early?" Sarah gave her a suspicious grin.

"Sam and I came early so that we could greet Jim when he arrives. That way I'd be able to talk to him before I get to work." Chris stopped a second and looked around the inn.

"Is something wrong?" 

"Oh no. It's just that I lost Sam. Sammy, where are you?"

"I'm right here!" came Sam's voice above all the commotion.

Christine looked over to see her brother sitting on top of the shoulders of a certain blue-eyed android. 

"Hi ya', Christy!" called B.E.N. waving his metal arm in the air. "It's nice to see you again, Christy!"

Christy. Did he have to call her that? "Hey, B.E.N.!" she managed to say cheerfully while gritting her teeth.

"I can't wait till Jimmy comes home for vacation! I'm so excited! Are you excited?! I'm excited! Is everyone---?!" 

Christine had to cut him off. "So, where's The Doppler family, Mrs. Hawkins?" 

"Oh, well they were really busy so they will be here tomorrow." She responded, trying to clear a messy table. Due to her habit of working at the inn, Chris began helping with picking up the dirty plates and putting them into a stack. Sarah chuckled and shook her head. "You know I can't afford to pay you overtime."

Christine laughed. "No, Mrs. Hawkins. Just thought you could use a little extra help."

Sammy sat peering out the window and then turned around. "I see…" 

"Jim?" asked Christine eagerly.

"No. A big thunderstorm's coming. It's already starting to rain pretty hard." 

Mrs. Hawkins peered over his shoulder. "Looks like we're in for some nasty weather tonight."

"Oh." Dang it. The tension was killing her. Wasn't Jim supposed to be here by now? She had been waiting four months for him to return for another vacation from the academy. And now she had to wait for god knows how much longer! Suddenly, a small version of herself floated in front of her smiling and cleaning up a miniature table. "Morph, you little…" she said playfully. The blob returned to its original form and giggled as Chris grabbed him and tickled him on his belly.

Just then, the door to the inn swung open and a gust of cool refreshing air swooped in. In stepped a slightly wet teenage boy with a sheepish smile on his face. Christine looked up into the bright blue eyes of the now eighteen year old Jim Hawkins. He had his brown hair cut just above the ears and was wearing his white academy uniform and black boots. Besides the fact that he was soaked from head to toe, he looked really handsome.

"Sorry about my appearance, folks." He laughed, noticing their confused expressions. "It really started coming down when I got off the ferry." 

"Oh, Jimmy! You're home!" B.E.N. announced, running towards the young man and embracing him in a very uncomfortable way. Finally, B.E.N. released him and stepped back to give him room to move and breathe. 

"Hey, B.E.N." he gave a fake smile. Then, Morph popped up in front of him and rubbed up against Jim's cheek with a happy chirp. "Hey, you little squidge." Morph turned into a miniature Jim and repeated squidge over and over again. 

This whole time, Christine was wringing her hands together as she watched Mrs. Hawkins hug her son and he affectionately embraced her back before she went to go wait on the customers. "He's so down to earth." She thought. He never made fun of her like guys from her school did. But he did give her a hard time occasionally just to annoy her but she knew it was all in good fun. She remembered seeing him for the first time. He had just got back from his adventure on Treasure Planet and was recommended to the academy by Captain Amelia. His bangs hung down in his face which made him look so cute, he had a small pony tail, a golden hoop ear ring, and his clothes were about three sizes too big. Yeah, he looked nice back then. But now he looked gorgeous. Not that she had a crush on him or anything. He was just a friend who just happened to be a highly attractive boy. She shook off the thought and looked herself over and made sure nothing was out of place. She then heard soft foot steps approach her and she looked up into Jim's face and smiled. She always made an idiot of herself when she was around boys. Especially this one. But, this time that wasn't going to happen. No siree bob!

He smiled that sweet smile that always made her fluster. "Hey, Christine. You look great. How's your brother?" 

Don't say anything stupid! Don't say anything stupid! Don't say anything stupid! She repeated it over and over again loudly in her head. "He's fine. Just fine." Okay, good so far. "You must be exhausted. So, why don't you take off your shirt…shoes! Shoes! Uh…yeah. Shoes." Way to go stupid! She knew that her entire face was bright red at this moment and it probably wouldn't go away for at least ten minutes. She thought he was going to say something about her slip-up but thank god he didn't. 

"Where is your brother?" he asked looking around the inn.

"Well, you know Sam." said Christine. "He always goes and hides and waits for you to go find him when you come back." 

Jim noticed Christine pointing over to a table with small feet poking out from under the table cloth. He rolled his eyes and casually walked over to the table and rested his hands on the top. "Hmm…Now where could that boy have gotten to?" he asked pretending to be clueless. He slowly moved his foot under the table and tapped Sam. "Now, what in blazes is that?" He looked under the table to see Sam smiling and glaring back at him. 

"You cheated!" he declared. 

"No. You're just not a very good hider." Jim said. Sam stuck out his tongue and Jim playfully messed up the child's hair. "Where's Doc and the kids?" he asked Chris who was now fading into a light pink.

"Oh, Mrs. Hawkins said that they were juggling a lot of tasks and won't be able to come till tomorrow." 

"Okay. I better go unpack my stuff then." He grabbed his duffel bag and lifted it up with ease and threw it over his shoulder. He charged up the stairs and to his room that he and B.E.N. unfortunately had to share. 

As soon as Jim was out of sight, Mrs. Hawkins popped her head out from behind the kitchen door. "Chris, I need your help in the kitchen." 

"Here we go." She thought silently to herself. "The beginning to just another ordinary day. I am overwhelmed with joy." She reached for her apron hanging on the wall and pulled it over her head. She took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. Maybe with Jim around things would be a bit more interesting.

The rain was really coming down when it came eight o'clock at night. The customers were slowly going back to their rooms and B.E.N. was hoping around cleaning up everyone's mess. Morph was zipping around and playing with Sam. Sarah was busing tables while Jim and Christine cleaned the dishes. The two hadn't talked for awhile. And she didn't blame him. Especially after that 'take off your shirt' incident. But, she had to say something or the awkward silence would drive her crazy.

"So…uh…Jim?" she didn't know what she was going to talk about but had to be something subtle.

"Uh-huh?" he answered as he scratched some food off the dishes with frustration.

"How's life at the academy?"

"Well, in all honesty it stinks. I mean don't get me wrong the teachers are okay and I've made a few friends. But, it's just all the homework that they pile on you day after day."

Chris nodded. "I know what you mean. Last year, I barley past algebra. I remember how mom and dad used to act when I brought home Cs and Ds." The happy sparkle left her face and her face became very sullen.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jim asked with concern. 

"Uh…yeah. I'm good." 

Jim didn't believe her. "It's been about three years, right?" 

"Yeah, but you know…it still hurts. Besides, my brother and I are getting along just fine on our own."

Jim smiled and shook his head as he put a clean plate up into the cabinet. He knew where he'd heard that before. The rain pounded down harder onto the roof of the Benbow and this made Jim even more concerned. 

"Hey, are you and Sam going to walk home?" he asked.

She looked at him questionably and shrugged. "Yeah. Why?"

"No way, Christine Rogers. I'm not going to have my friend walking a ten minute walk home at night during a violent thunderstorm." His words surprised her and made her blush at the same time. He was pretty protective of his friends and family members. But, what he was about to offer Chris almost knocked her right off her feet. He poked his head out of the kitchen and called to his mom. "Hey, mom. Considering the circumstances of the weather can Chris and Sam stay here for tonight?"

Spend the night?! Here?! In Jim's house?! While Jim was still here?! 

Sarah nodded. "Sure. We still have a few rooms left. She and Sam could share a room."

Chris squeaked. "Jim you really don't have to do that. I mean I don't want your mom to worry about having an extra person here. And I just…"

"Oh, stop being so stubborn, Christine. You and your brother are going to stay here for tonight. And that's that." he scowled.

"Well, at least let me pay you guys for the room."

Jim shook his head. "Free of charge."

She looked into his stern eyes and smiled. "Thanks, Jim."

"Don't mention it." She followed him out the kitchen door. They saw B.E.N. dancing with the broom and humming a show tune. "B.E.N., can you take Christine and Sam to one of the rooms we have left?"

The android stopped dancing and his face lit up with delight. "You mean they're staying over?! Like a slumber party?! Can I tell my favorite scary story?"

"B.E.N., just show them their room so that they can get some rest."

"Okay, okay." He sat the broom up against the wall. "Follow me." He then started up the stairs.

"Sam!" she called. Her brother popped around the corner and was followed by Morph. "We're going to stay here for tonight, okay?"

"Really? Cool!" he responded.

She continued to follow the navigator up the stairs. 

That night, while lying in bed, Christine kept getting a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Like something really bad was going to happen. She glanced over at her little brother who was sound asleep. She loved her brother with all her heart. He was all she had left. If she lost him she wouldn't know what she would do. She leaned over and kissed Sam on his forehead. She then rolled over and closed her eyes. Before she could think any more about the bad feeling, she slipped into sweet slumber. Little to her knowledge, a large, dark, sinister figure was spying on them with his yellow devilish eyes from the window.

***

A/N: How was that? I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please R&R. 


	2. Kidnapped!

Christine was in deep sleep when the window was inched open, allowing cool air to rush over her. She shivered a bit and tightened the blanket around her body. A green skinny alien snuck stealthily through the window. The intruder had a red bandana on his head, yellow piercing eyes and baggy pants with a brown vest. He slowly put his hand into his back pocket and pulled out a dagger with a symbol of a pirate inscribed on it and then took out a wrinkled piece of paper from his vest. 

The crumpling of the paper slowly awoke Sam from his sleep. He lazily opened one eye and saw a hazy picture of the pirate. His eyes shot open when he saw the dagger in his hand and sat upright in bed. Before Sam could yell, the alien took out a scarf and gagged the boy. He then picked the kicking child up from the bed before he could wake up Chris and tied his hands tightly behind his back and stuffed him into a sack. The pirate looked over at the girl to see if she had wakened up. But, she was still dreaming. He walked over to the window and handed the boy to another pirate on the roof. He then took the paper and placed it at the end of the dagger. 

On the roof, Sam was struggling and kicking in the sack. He finally got his head out of the bag and moved his mouth around and somehow maneuvered the gag off. He took this opportunity to scream for help. "Christine! He---!" the pirate quickly stifled him by tying the gag back on and stuffed him back into the sack. 

"Ye better be quiet, boy! I have no problem wit cuttin' out that tongue o' yers!" hissed the pirate. He hopped down from the roof and into a longboat with ease. Obviously he was some kind of feline species like Captain Amelia only uglier.

Christine woke up with a yawn from the racket going on outside. She yawned and looked at her window to see the green pirate smirking evilly at her. She screamed in horror when she saw the familiar face before her. She new that face! She thought she would never see it again but there he was! He chuckled evilly and threw the dagger with the paper on it in her direction and she dodged it. It got stuck on a chest of drawers behind her as the rogue jumped out the window and down the roof and into the longboat. 

That's when Chris realized that her brother was gone. She flew the covers off her and jumped to her feet and looked out the window to see the longboat taking off with a squirming sack on board. She covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming her lungs out. They had kidnapped her brother and she couldn't do anything to stop them! She fell to the ground as the longboat headed into the etherium and began weeping uncontrollably and then let out another ear-shattering scream that wasn't one of fear. But one of rage. The pirate that had taken her brother was no stranger. He was the same pirate that had taken the life of two other family members. Her mother and father.

Just then, Christine could hear heavy footsteps running down the hallway and coming closer. Jim appeared at the door in nothing but a white tank and checkered boxers. Christine would have flustered all over at his attire but was too scared and angry. 

"Are you okay, Chris?! I heard you scream!" he said putting both hands on her shoulders. 

She sniffled. "Th…th…they took him. They took him! Those god for saken pirates took my brother!" she couldn't subdue her crying. She buried her face in Jim's shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer to comfort her. 

"Jim! Christine! What happened?!" came a voice from the door. It was Sarah in a pink night dress with B.E.N. and Morph standing next to her.

Jim kept trying to comfort Christine as he spoke. "I don't know. She said something about pirates and that they kidnapped Sam."

"What?!" cried B.E.N. "We'll get those black-hearted scoundrels even if it means risking my best buddy, Jimmy's, life!"

Jim glared at B.E.N. Chris slowly pulled out of Jim's hold and stood up. A look of anger and rage was on her face. Not a smidge of fear could be seen. She wiped her eyes and walked over to the drawers and shakily removed the pirate's dagger. Her hands shook as she read the note.

_Dear Ms. Rogers,_

_            My crew and I had to slit a few throats to get all the info we needed to now where you lived. When we got to your house, we discovered that you weren't there. How we found out you were staying at an inn is for us to know. We know that you must have many questions on why we kidnapped your brother, Sam. Well, first let me just say on behalf of my crew, long time no see. _

Chris closed her eyes. He wouldn't ever let her forget the crime he committed. She continued to read. 

_We do hope that you'll read and accept our terms. I, the captain, promise that no harm will come to your brother unless you do not play by our rules. You have a treasure map that we want that rightfully belongs to us pirates in the first place. We want it back! We couldn't stay anywhere near Montressor so we had to sail a few galaxies away to a trading planet. It should take you two months to get there so that's the exact amount of time you've got or the boy dies. Got it? I suggest that you start planning your trip right away. The coordinates to the planet are written articulately on the back of this letter. Remember, no police and no tricks!._

_Signed,_

_                     Captain Donovan _

The room was silent. Christine carefully folded the paper in her hand and tightened her grip on it. So, he had come back. Captain Donovan. The same man who destroyed her life three years ago by taking the lives of the two people whom she really loved. Now, he had taken Sammy. This time he had gone too far.

Jim stepped forward. "Chris, what does this mean? Do you really have a treasure map?"

Christine gulped, "Well, I think I know what he's talking about. Before my parents left on their final voyage they gave me a small wooden box. My mom told me that there was something in there that was very sacred to my family. Shortly after that, my parents were…" she didn't want to say any more. She had never told anyone the story of what happened to her parents and especially nothing about the map. She took a deep breath and spoke. "It's hidden in a secret compartment at my house."

"So, all we have to do is give it to the pirates and you'll have your brother back." 

"Jim, you make it sound so easy. That treasure is rightfully ours. It belongs to my family and giving it to those scoundrels would be out of the question!" she yelled. "There is no way that I'm going to let that brutish rogue lay a single scaly finger on my loot! And besides, that man has never kept his word and I know that he's lying about returning my brother as well!"

"Wait." Jim said. "You make it sound like you know this Captain Donovan personally."

She looked to the floor and shifted uncomfortably. "That's because I do."

"How?"

 "That's not important right now, Jim. What is important is that we have to figure out how we can get my brother back and keep the map to the treasure, too!"

Jim had never seen her like this. She hardly ever raised her voice. Not even when her brother was getting on her nerves. But, she had every right to act this way and he was going to do everything he could to help her. "Christine, if you want our help then we'd be more than happy to assist you." Jim said sympathetically.  

She looked up from the note and back into those enchanting eyes of his. That's when she remembered how he held her. She felt so safe with him and so secure. She discovered that she wouldn't mind him to hold her like that more often. "Really?" she said, whipping away the water off her cheeks from her tears. 

B.E.N. popped up in between them. "Yeah! We'll help ya'! If you ever need anything then you know who to call!"

"B.E.N.'s right." Mrs. Hawkins added. "You're just as close to us as any other family member."

"Thank you." She smiled sadly. "But, how are we supposed to get a captain and a crew on this short of notice?"

Jim, Morph, and B.E.N. looked at each other and smirked. They all knew exactly who to get.

***

Too short, I know. But, I'll try to make the next chapter more exciting and longer. Remember to R&R please!


	3. Another Adventure

A/N: Thank you guys a lot for your reviews so far! =^-^= I really like getting reviews. Good or bad. So, keep 'em coming everyone!

***

"C'mon, captain!" Jim begged Amelia.

"Jim, I thought I made it clear that I do not want to get involved in this sort of thing." She said, taking a sip of her tea.

Christine just sat there looking back and forth from the feline to Jim as they argued. Delbert and B.E.N. were holding the four Doppler children who were becoming quite restless. Christine sighed and leaned back, crossing her arms in frustration. She didn't have time to wait for this. Her brother was in the claws of her most hated enemy and she was just sitting here doing nothing!

"Mr. Hawkins," she said straightening herself up, "kidnapping is the kind of thing that the authorities should deal with. This is not any of our problem." 

Just then, something snapped inside of Chris. She shot up from her chair and walked up right in front of the captain. She had that same enraged face that she had when her brother was kidnapped. Jim had to admit that that face sent shivers up his spine.

"Captain Amelia," she said, clenching her teeth, "with all do respect, this is my problem! Sammy's my little brother and he's all I've got left! He's counting on me to go rescue him before it's too late!"

Amelia smirked, "Well then, in that case I'll rent you a longboat and you can go on your own."

Jim watched as Chris's hands became fists. Jim was about to jump out of his chair to stop her from hitting the captain. But, he remembered that she would never do that. 

"Tell me this, captain." She spoke more calmly this time. "If you're only four children were kidnapped by pirates, what would you do? Would you just sit there and wait for some slim chance that the police would return with them safe and sound?"

The captain looked over at her four children who were climbing all over B.E.N. and Delbert. Her husband smiled at her with a loving and pleading look. Amelia looked down at the floor.

"We know where they are. All we need is a crew and ship to get us there. And you're the only person that I know who would be willing to help us out. So, I'm asking you one last time…please help me get my brother back."

Amelia closed her eyes and sighed. Dr. Doppler placed a hand on top of hers. "Amelia?" he asked hopefully.

"Well," she started, "what are we sitting around here for? We've got a rescue mission to plan."

Christine's eyes lit up when she heard those words. Then, her face fell and she blushed in embarrassment. "Uh…Sorry about the whole yelling thing, captain. I guess I just kind of lost myself there."

Captain Amelia waved the apology away. "No, no, Ms. Rogers. I realize how much this really means to you. How much Samuel means to you." 

"Thank you, Captain Amelia." 

***

The day after they had received the letter from Captain Donovan, Chris went home and got the map. It was hidden in the staircase under one of the steps. It was a small silver sphere with a little hole on it that the hologram of the map would come from. 

Three weeks passed and until they finally departed for the ship. Christine, Jim, Captain Amelia, Dr. Doppler, B.E.N., and Morph were all going. Over the weeks, Chris had grown more nervous and scared for her brother's life. If she had to wait another week before they left she would start to think that renting a longboat to get there wouldn't be such a bad idea. Beside her usual dress, she wore a red top with a V-neck, bash pants, and some old brown boots. Her hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail and she wore gold hoped ear rings. She really didn't care what she wore. Comfort was her only priority at the moment.

When they came to their ship, Chris's eyes went wide with wonder. It was a glittering galleon with shimmering sails. It was one of the most magnificent ships she had ever seen. Jim was sharing the same expression as she was. "Wow! You really out did it this time, Doc." He said to Delbert.

"Jim, when I volunteered to finance this expedition, I told you that there was no such thing as out doing it." The canine responded. "Besides, we will need the best ship to get us there. Who knows what's out in that galaxy or who?"

They walked aboard the ship and looked around at all the creatures on deck. There was a bird like alien, a lizard, a rat, and something that looked like the cross between a crab and a spider. Chris took a few steps back when the lizard creature slithered by. All of the crew members looked like a bunch of cutthroat pirates. That sure recharged some unwanted memories in Jim's mind. 

Chris looked over at Dr. Doppler and frowned. "Why did you hire Satan's crew, Doc?"

Dr. Doppler raised an eyebrow at her. "I didn't." he said.

"Really? Well, what diluted person did?" she asked. Everyone looked and pointed over at Captain Amelia. Christine's face fell blank and pale. "Oh…Okay. Uh…Forget I said anything. In fact… I'm not even here." She shuffled a little ways away from the captain in fear of her scratching her eyes out. 

Morph started zipping around saying, "Diluted person! Diluted person! Diluted person!"

Captain Amelia smiled. "On the contrary, Ms. Rogers, all these men's records are completely clean and they shouldn't be much trouble."

"With you as captain they won't even think about disobeying orders." A gruff voice from behind said. They turned around to see a tall burly man who was human. He had a few medals on his jacket and a scar on his right eye. Chris could tell by looking at his scars that he had been in a battle or war of some kind. Either that or he was really clumsy. "Let me just start by saying that it is truly an honor to be traveling with the most famous captain in all the galaxies." He bowed to the captain who was placing her hat on her head.

"Ah…Mr. Starling." She turned to the other five. "Everyone, this is my first mate Mr. Jonathon Starling. Mr. Starling, this is my husband Dr. Delbert Doppler, our navigator B.E.N., Jim Hawkins, and our new cabin girl Christine Rogers."

Chris scrunched up her nose and placed her hands on her hips. "Cabin girl?! Who said anything about me being a stinkin' cabin girl?!" She looked over at Jim who was giving her a warning look. She had already had two strikes with Captain Amelia and she wasn't going to make it three. "I mean…I am just…just simply overjoyed about the whole thing." She turned her head away from the group and snorted. "Mm-hmm." It was like this had been planned just to humiliate her. She was stuck cleaning up after a bunch of freakish spacers. Morph popped up in front of her and turned into a small version of her cleaning a toilet. 

"And that there is Mr. Hawkins's pet." Amelia pointed out. "He won't be a bother."

Chris growled at Morph and then jumped forward to catch the blob but missed and tumbled into a bunch of crates and knocked them down. The group winced at the noise of her face hitting the deck first. She sat up with a pathetic look on her face and quickly began stacking the crates back up. Captain Amelia gestured for the first mate to lean in closer. "But, that girl might be. Tell our cook to keep her busy."

He saluted. "Aye, Captain." He called "Ms. Rogers."

She froze right in the middle of putting up another crate and looked at him with worriment. "I didn't mean to, sir. That floating jell-o blob over there was…"

"Let me take you down into the galley, Ms. Rogers." He gestured over to the stairs that led down below deck. "I want you to meet our cook and your boss Mr. Carlson. You can clean this mess up later."

She put the crate down and followed Mr. Starling to the galley. She looked back over her shoulder and gave Jim a look that called for help. He didn't know how to help her so he just shook his head and shrugged. Jim knew the responsibilities and tasks that Christine was going to have to do. He only wished that there was someway that he could help. Even he thought it was pretty unfair. Here she had lost her brother and she was having to bus tables. For some odd reason, knowing that they were probably going to put her through even more stress than she already was in, really enraged him. 

***

Shortly after take off, Christine was walking around slowly with a mop and tried not to hurl again. True her parents used to be spacers, but she never actually went on an actual ship before. So, this caused her some serious etherium sickness problems and it seemed to be getting worst the longer she stayed on deck. Christine paused in the middle of mopping and clamped her hand over her mouth. She dropped the mop and ran over to side of the ship, leaned over the railing and…well…you get the idea. She stood there leaning over the railing for about five minutes before returning to her chores. She knew her breath smelled really bad by now so she decided to go brush her teeth before heading to bed. She picked up her mop and started walking back to her room until…

"Oh, no! Not again!" she ran back to the railing and did what she had been doing for the past two hours. 

Just then, B.E.N. came up on deck carrying a bottle of etherium sickness pills. "Hey, Christy! I can see that you're still upchucking so I thought that you might want this." He handed her the bottle of pills and she smiled at him before throwing up again. 

_He could have at least given them to me earlier before I lost my lunch._ She thought.

***

A/N: Okay…uh…I've got nothing to say right now except to please R&R. Love ya'll!!!


	4. Keeping Busy

A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! I really do appreciate it! A lot! The next chapter, chapter 5, is going to mainly be an action sequence. Let me just warn you ahead of time that action scenes are not my cup of tea. Okay. Now, in this chapter Christine's really klutzy. But, we still love her anyway. Well, here it goes! Onto chapter 4!

***

In the middle of the night, Christine was tossing and turning in her sleep and was twisting the blanket in knots around her legs. She whimpered and clenched her pillow with all her might. Finally, her eyes shot open and she sat upright in her bunk gasping for air. She placed a hand on her forehead and felt the beads of sweat that had been streaming down her face. Her back, chest, and legs were also wet. She pulled the covers off to cool off and sat on the edge of her hammock. She leaned over and ran a hand through her sweaty hair. "It was just a nightmare. It didn't really happen." She assured herself. The nightmare consisted of her brother and Captain Donovan. Christine gave him the map like she was supposed to. But instead of giving Sammy back, he slit the boy's throat. Chris closed her eyes and tried to get the picture out of her head. "He's okay. He's not dead." She kept saying. "I'll see him soon." 

She laid back down and closed her eyes. Not to go to sleep, but to think. "But, still… Can I trust a pirate?" Her mouth was parched and she needed a glass of water before she died of thirst. She got up and tiptoed into the galley as to not wake up the other crew members. She looked behind her to see if anyone had awoke but didn't concentrate on where she was going and knocked into a barrel. It fell to the ground and a bunch of purps rolled out onto the floor. She got down on her knees and mentally cursed herself for her clumsiness. She made sure everyone was still asleep and fortunately for her, they were. The last thing she needed was another scolding lecture from Mr. Carlson. She had made a mental note not to screw up when he was breathing down her neck 24/7. This, for her, was not an easy task. 

When she met the cook, Mr. Carlson, she knew right on the spot that she didn't care much for him. He was fat, sweaty, dirty, had a gold tooth, an eye patch, and was not exactly something you would want to meet in a dark alley. It wasn't his appearance that vexed her. But, his attitude. He first said something about how horrible it was to have a scrawny girl to do cabin boy's work. Then, when he finally agreed to have her as cabin girl and Mr. Starling left, Carlson told her to get right to work. First, with helping prepare the meals, swabbing the deck, making sure that Morph and B.E.N. didn't sneak anymore snacks from the kitchen, cleaning the bathrooms or heads as he called them, and then making sure the longboats were secure for the night. 

She knew that that's not all the work she could have done since they didn't take-off until late afternoon. Christine placed the barrel in its right place and then continued on into the galley. She walked over to a cupboard and took out a cup. She then took a pitcher of water and poured it until it almost reached the brim. Chris sat down at the counter and drank it all. It felt good to have something cold after all that nausea. She sat the cup down and began tracing the brim just to pass time. She was still a little tired but she didn't want to go back to sleep. Mainly because she really didn't want to have another nightmare. She rested her chin on her knuckles and sighed. She decided to make a list of her likes and dislikes of things on the ship in no particular order.

Dislikes:

1. Everything about being a cabin girl

2. Mr. Carlson and his meals

3. Etherium sickness

Likes:

1. Her friends

2. The view of the stars

3. Jim Hawkins

Jim was probably the only one keeping her alive through this ordeal. She didn't talk to him since the launch except once at dinner. He told her that he knew how she felt and what to avoid eating if she wanted to live to be eighteen. She ran her hand up and down her arm nervously. She then lifted her sleeve to look at the permanent mark on her arm. It was a blue star tattoo. That's right! A tattoo! Christine chuckled to herself, still feeling foolish about getting that thing embedded in her arm for all eternity. She had never told anyone about it. Except her brother of course. That mark was the only reason why she never wore a tank top. Christine had her own personal reasons for covering it up. But, she never told a single soul. Not even Jim. She could feel that her sleepiness was overpowering her and she slowly began closing her eyes. She jolted back to being awake but that only lasted about five minutes and then she rested her head on the counter top and drifted into slumber. 

***

The next morning, Jim awoke before anyone else and decided to get him coffee. He didn't really like it, but it was the only thing that could actually wake him up all the way. He got up and walked to the galley, hearing the boards creek beneath his feet. He froze at the entrance into the galley when he saw Christine huddled over, still sleeping. Her mouth was partly open and her hair was a mess. Yet, she still looked good. Jim smiled and walked over to his friend and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Chris? Christine?" he asked, trying to get some response of life from her. She mumbled something incoherent and then moved her head to the other side. Jim knew that she had been hunched over all night and she was going to have serious back pains when she woke up if he didn't do something. He tapped her again. "Chris? You need to go back to your hammock before Carlson wakes up." No response came from her except her slow steady breathing. He shook his head and smiled. He decided to try again after he got his coffee. It was no trouble making it. The challenge came in tasting it. The brand was something that he had never heard of. But, it was all he had until they came to the next spaceport to reload on supplies. He closed his eyes and quickly sipped it and spit it out back into the cup. It was the worst thing he had ever tasted. He walked over to the sink and cupped his hand to catch water and drank it to get the taste out. 

He wiped his mouth and sighed. Well, he _was fully awake now. He poured the coffee out and walked back over to Christine who was mumbling something. Jim shook her just a bit. While she was still asleep, she whispered, "Yes, I would like fries with that." Jim looked at her weird and chuckled. He looked down at her and something happened. He suddenly had this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. Without thinking, he carefully moved some loose bangs out of her eyes and pulled them behind her ear. He now had a much better look at her sleeping angelic face. She was really pretty. Even with the messy hair and little snoring noises she was making. In fact, it made her even more beautiful. She was probably the nicest and prettiest girl back home on Montressor. There weren't many humans around in the first place. So, he was pretty excited when his mom told him that she hired a human girl about his age to work in the Benbow Inn. _

The first time they met about three years ago, Jim came home from solar surfing and saw her washing dishes. She was also singing a song and doing her own little dance to it. When he came up behind her to say hello, it surprised her and she took the sponge she was using as a microphone and threw it in his face. You can probably just imagine the embarrassment in that. The entire day, she kept making apologies about what she did and Jim kept telling her it was alright. He knew right away that he liked her and she liked him. But, what really drew him to liking her was how she acted. She wasn't anything like the other girls from the academy. She wasn't serious, she was silly at times, she was persistent, tough, and sometimes stubborn. Of course their relationship was nothing more than a friendly one. They were best friends after all. 

Jim decided to help Chris to bed. He sat her up and placed an arm behind her back and his other under her knees. He then scooped her up without waking her and walked over to her bunk like a groom carrying his bride. He carefully laid her down and pulled the blanket over her. He fixed her pillow and made sure that she was comfortable. Then, he heard her mumble something. He could have sworn that it sounded like his name. Was she dreaming about him? _No, of course not! Why would she be? He thought. He suddenly realized that his hand had somehow found its way onto hers. _What the heck am I doing?_ He was about to remove it but Christine grabbed it. Jim's eyes went wide with confusion and he felt his face get warm. He looked over at her face but saw that she was still asleep. She was dreaming and maybe it __was him that she was dreaming about. He looked back at their hands and then slowly and cautiously laced his fingers with hers. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth that he couldn't control. _

That's when he heard one of the crew members waking up. He quickly let go of her hand and stood. Regret and disappointment swept over him after having to let go. He shook his head. _What am I thinking? She's my best friend! It's not like she's my girlfriend or anything! _He was relieved when the warmth on his face vanished and the feeling in his stomach was gone. He turned around and made his way over to the steps to go up on the deck. But, something tugged at his heart that told him to turn around. He gave in and looked back over his shoulder to see Christine all bundled up in the blanket and a look of comfort on her face. Knowing that she was cozy a satisfied smile came across his face and he continued to make his way up the steps.

***

Sammy could hear footsteps coming closer and closer to the room where the pirates locked him in. His heart literally stopped when he heard the footsteps stop right out his door. He backed up against the wall when the door whooshed open. In stepped two pirates and stood on either side of the doorway. Then a man in a black overcoat and a captain's hat stepped in. It was Captain Donovan. The door closed behind him and he approached the boy with an evil smile on his face. He stopped when he was about five feet away from the boy. He knelt down so that his yellow eyes could be level with his.

"What do you want?" Sammy asked with disgust.

Donovan raised an eyebrow. "Why…I just wanted to see if our bate was comfortable in this old abandoned rat infested warehouse."

"Give it up, Donovan!" Sam yelled. "My sister will come and get me and then she'll kick your---"

"Remember two things, boy!" Donovan yelled, getting right into the child's face. "One: You are to address me as Captain Donovan. Second: Your sister is not going to stop me from getting to the treasure. All she'll go home with is a whinny little brother. And I shall go home with more money than a king." Sammy frowned at him and then stuck his tongue out. Captain Donovan chuckled evilly. "Remember, boy I gave you the privilege of not being tied up and gagged anymore. You keep quiet and try not to escape, and then I'll think about giving you something beside bread to eat." He turned on his heels and left the room. The other two pirates followed him out and closed the door, locking it.

Sammy found a piece of a wooden crate and threw it at the door out of anger. He curled up into a ball and buried his face in his knees and cried. What if Donovan tried to deceive his sister and he killed her? He felt even worst knowing that he was not in any state to be able to go help her.

***

The day was hot and tiring and Chris was growing very annoyed of being a cabin girl pretty fast. She was first ordered to swab the deck again because Mr. Carlson found a spot that wasn't mopped up. Then, she had to help with breakfast and was left to clean the dishes by herself. Next, she had to scrub all the scum off of the side of the ship without any assistance. _Yeah, well I can think of one piece of scum that made its way on this ship that deserves to be scrubbed off. That's what she wanted to tell him. But she knew that she was already in way over her head and didn't want to get in any trouble with Captain Amelia._

On her break, Chris took a purp and made her way up to the mast. She sat down and watched as the sky was steadily turning into a dark blue. The wind was whipping the hair that was hanging down from her loose ponytail in her face. She tossed the purp from one hand to the other and made sure not to drop it then took a bite. Suddenly, morph popped up behind her and barked like a dog. Christine jumped and dropped the purp down to the deck. She couldn't see where it landed because she was too busy trying to catch Morph. "Come here, you little trouble maker!" she ordered in a serious but humorous voice. 

The blob zipped up to the crow's nest to get away from her reach. She started to climb the rope ladder up to where Morph was hiding. She stopped about halfway and looked down. She didn't realize how high she actually was. But, she continued to climb. She peeked over the edge and saw nothing but a coil of rope. She squinted her eyes at the rope suspiciously and climbed all the way in. As soon as he was all the way in, the rope flew at her and tied itself around her ankles causing her to lose her balance and fall down. The rope unwrapped itself from her and changed back into a giggling Morph.

"Man, are you gonna get it!" she said, getting up.

Morph continued zipping around her and causing her much frustration in catching him. She leaned over the edge of the crow's nest to reach him, Then, she heard crackling noises and before she could act, the side of the nest broke and she went plummeting towards the deck. She quickly grabbed a rope and held on for dear life. She was hanging a little more than half way between the crow's nest and the deck. Suddenly, the rope snapped and she freefell into a bunch of barrels and crates. 

Everything went black and silent. Chris didn't know whether she was dead or unconscious. She waited for that bright majestic light to come and take her away to the afterlife. Then, she finally started hearing voices that sounded like they were in panic. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw the faces of the crew members standing over her. One of them was snickering at her little accident and she would have punched his lights out. But, her body wouldn't let her. Her entire body ached from head to toe, like pins piercing her all over, and she thought that all her bones were broken. She felt something wet trickling down the side of her head and despite the pain she lifted her hand to feel it. She looked at her hand only to find fresh blood. 

Her hand fell back onto the deck and it was hard to breathe. Finally, she saw a face that she recognized and she felt relieved. It was Jim and he had Dr. Doppler with him. She saw the horrific look on Jim's face. It was the kind of look that a mother would give her child if they fell off the playground and got terribly hurt. He was obviously fearing for her life. 

"Doc is she going to be alright?" he asked.

"Well, uh…" Dr. Doppler had to find the exact words to say.

"Doc!" he yelled in rage, "I don't have time for this! Is she going to---?" 

"Calm down, Jim! We just have to get her to bed." He said, trying to calm Jim down. But, he knew deep down that her wounds were serious and it would probably take more than rest to help her.

Christine tried her best to stay conscious so that she could know what's wrong with her. But, instead her entire body went numb and her vision became blurry. Then, everything went black and dead silent again.

***

A/N: Mwa-ha-ha-ha! Another cliff hanger! I only do it to annoy you guys! He-he-he! Please R&R! Love ya'll! 


	5. It Was a Trick

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I've just been really lazy this summer. Okay, here's Chapter 5!

***

Christine was running down a long hallway that just seemed to get longer the more she ran. She stopped when she came to a door and carefully opened it. All she saw inside was darkness. Then, a gun shot rang out and a piercing pain went throughout her whole back. She felt warm blood streaming down her spine. She fell to her knees and just stared out into the dark room in shock. All of a sudden, someone placed a foot on her wound and she screamed when they pushed her over the edge and into the black abyss. She seemed to be falling very slowly and the pain began to take over her entire body. She looked around as she fell and saw the vile face of Captain Donovan smirking at her with those devilish eyes of his. She tried to scream but nothing would come out. She attempted to scream the first name that came to mind… Jim. 

Christine jolted from sleep and sat in an upright position. But, she soon fell back onto her pillow when the same pain from her nightmare made its way up her spine. She must have been given something to relieve the pain and now it was returning full force. She clenched her head where she was bleeding from before and felt a white bandage tied around it. She closed her eyes and tried her best to hold back the tears of pain. But, it wasn't only the pain that made her want to cry, it was because she humiliated herself in front of the entire crew and she kept having horrible nightmares haunted by Captain Donovan. She rolled over on her side and stared at the blank wall of the sick bay. Chris closed her eyes and sighed. She thought that maybe sleep would at least relieve the physical pain, but knew that it would not help the pain in her heart.

Jim and Morph came stealthily down the stairs as to not disturb Chris and to not end up dropping the soup he had on the tray. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked over at Chris. He managed a smile and walked over and sat down comfortably in a chair by her side. He placed the soup to one side and placed a hand carefully on her shoulder to wake her up and it did. Her eyes shot open from sleep and she grabbed a pillow and with all her strength whacked Jim in the head knocking him backwards in the chair. Both of them yelped in pain. Jim was hurting from knocking his head on the wooden floor below him and Christine was aching from underestimating the pain of her injuries. 

When she noticed who she hit she gasped. "Jim?!"

He got up, dusted himself off, and smiled at her. "I…uh…brought you some cheese and broccoli soup." He pointed over to the bowl of steaming soup and Christine realized how hungry she really was.

She shook her head. "Oh, my god, Jim I am so sorry. I was having another nightmare and…and then…" She couldn't help but laugh when she saw Jim's hair all messed up from the blow of the pillow. "You just kind of…snuck up on me." 

Jim chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "I can see that."

Morph turned into a miniature of Jim getting whacked in the head with a pillow. Chris tried not to laugh at the blob's idea of joke. "But, I am really…really sorry. Please forgive me. I just…" Jim held up his hand to stop her from showering him with anymore apologies.

"Here," he said, picking up the tray and placing it in her lap. "You must be hungry by now."

She nodded and spooned a couple of sips into her mouth. She stopped and looked at Jim. "What happened?"

"That's kind of what I want to know." He said leaning back in his chair with his arms folded. "How did you fall down to the deck?"

She blushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Well…I was up in the masts during my break and Morph came up behind me and spooked me. So, I chased him around and around and I followed him up in the crow's nest and when I leaned over the side…it gave way and I fell to the deck. Luckily, I grabbed onto a rope hanging down from the mast. It broke and I fell the rest of the way down onto the deck." Morph flew to her and gave her a sad puppy dog look. She smiled and nuzzled the blob. "It's okay, Morph. I know that you were just playing around." Morph chirped happily and zipped back over to Jim.

Jim seemed to be listening closely. He placed the front legs of his chair back on the floor and started thinking. He knew that if she didn't grab that rope, she would have broken all her bones or she would have… When he thought about it, a sickening feeling came into the pit of his stomach. "Well, I'm just glad that you're alright." He said placing a hand on top of hers and she managed a weak smile. Chris realized that the whole time that Jim was there, she hadn't felt the pain. It was like it all went away like magic. 

"Christy! Oh, Christy!" A shrill scream came from the stairs. B.E.N. was running down the stairs and made his way to Christine. 

Before the android could jump in her lap and hug her, Jim grabbed him by the arm. B.E.N. looked at Jim who was giving him that look of his that always made him shiver. 

"Sorry." He gulped. He turned to Christine and gave her an apologetic smile. "How are ya' feeling Christy?"

"I…" she looked over at Jim for a moment. She wanted to tell them exactly how she felt. The pain was returning and was hitting her like a huge wave. She just wanted to lie down and cry her pain away. But, she didn't want to look like a klutz and a baby in front of Jim. She shrugged, "I've felt worst pain than this." 

B.E.N. walked over to her and held up a finger. "Does this hurt?" he poked her hard on her side. 

She winced in pain. "Ow!"

"How about this?" he poked her on her shoulder.

"Ouch! B.E.N…."

"What about here?" he reached behind her and poked at her spine.

"Ow! Yes! Now, would you just…?"

"Or, how about---?" Chris was once again saved from the android by Jim.

Jim whirled B.E.N. around and gave him that look again. "B.E.N., don't you have to watch the monitors up on deck?" he tried his best to sound like he wasn't frustrated and angry. But, it was pretty obvious to Christine that he was.

"Oh, right!" He saluted to Christine. "See ya', Christy! Hope ya' get better soon!" Christine smiled a thank you and with that, the navigator turned and hopped up the stairs.

She looked over at Jim and smirked knowingly. "Isn't watching the monitors _your_ job?" 

Jim smirked back at her. "Yes." 

Suddenly, calls of panic were coming from above deck and they heard B.E.N. scream. Jim ran up the stairs and returned shortly after and looked like he had seen a ghost. "What's wrong?" asked Christine. Jim looked around the room for some kind of weapon. 

He spotted a pistol, picked it up and cocked it. "We've got company."

Christine's eyes went wide. "Pirates?" Jim nodded. Christine threw the covers off and despite her injuries, limped over to Jim. "I'm going with you."

That's when Jim noticed that she was even standing there behind him. "Chris, you're injured! You're in no condition to fight!"

Christine narrowed her eyes at Jim and against his own will he took a couple of steps back. She turned away sharply from him and walked away trying her best not to limp or show any sign of pain. She disappeared for just a bit and then came back with her own flintlock. 

Jim's mouth went dry. "Christine…"

She looked up at him and he saw something else in her eyes that made him tense up and Morph zip behind Jim's shoulder. She had changed so fast in just a split second. He didn't even recognize her anymore. She walked up to Jim and stared him down. "Jim, tell me," Jim noticed that even her voice had changed as well. It sounded challenging and a little threatening. "What pirate in his right mind would waist his time on a ship that isn't a trading vessel, merchant ship, or carrying any royalty or treasures of any kind?" 

Jim finally understood. "You don't think that those pirates are…?"

Christine finished his sentence. "Part of Donovan's crew. It was all a trick to get rid of me, my friends, and keep the treasure." She cocked the gun and looked up at Jim. Jim relaxed when he noticed just a bit of the girl he knew in her face. "And kill my brother as well." 

She passed Jim and made her way up the steps. Jim noticed that she stopped and balanced herself against the wall to keep from falling. Jim walked up behind her and opened his mouth to talk but Christine interrupted him. "I'm fine, Jim." She said without looking at him. "I'm not going to let Donovan win. Not this time." She walked the rest of the way up the steps without wincing. 

The feeling you get when you feel like you are falling in a dream. That was the feeling that was taking hold of Jim. He knew she couldn't fight. Not in the state that she was in. Jim wished that he could have told her to stay like he did at the Benbow during the storm. But, that was something entirely different. She wanted vengeance. That's what he saw in her eyes that made him shiver. He tightened his grip on the laser pistol and charged up the stairs. 

Jim found Christine standing at the railing with the other crew members looking out at the approaching pirate ship. He ran over and stood by her side, his heart racing. "Is that his ship?"

She kept looking straight ahead when she spoke. "One of them. He steals navy vessels all the time." Christine's face softened into her usual look. "Jim?" she said quietly.

He glanced over at her and saw that all the color in her face was gone. "What? What's wrong?" He knew that she had a strong way with words but when it came right down to it she was scared and didn't really fancy the idea of fighting a bunch of blood thirsty cutthroats pirates. 

She looked over at Jim and smiled sheepishly. "Can you watch over me?" The way she said the question tugged at his heart again and made him fluster. "You know. Watch my back. I don't want to be caught off guard."

 It sounded like she meant to watch over her forever but he knew that she was just talking about the pirates. He smiled and nodded. "Sure, Christine." A violent jolt of the ship jerked the ship back making everyone fall backwards onto the deck. Christine clenched her shoulder and bit her lip to keep from screaming in pain. "You okay?" Jim asked reaching out to barely touch her shoulder.

"I…I'm okay." She whispered. "Never felt better!" Another booming noise and jolt came. The pirates were firing on them. Christine and Jim stood up and gripped onto the side of the ship for dear life. 

"Mr. Thompson!" Cried Captain Amelia from her post. She was standing there with Dr. Doppler by her side. Both of them with a flintlock. "Return fire immediately!" she commanded the turtle like alien sitting in the laser cannon seat. The gunner fired back on the pirates on command puncturing a huge hole in the solar sail. He fired another laser cannonball and this time knocked down one of three masts slowing them down slightly. But it was too late. The pirates came right up beside the ship and jumped aboard. Everyone took a few steps back before firing on them. When the crossfire ensued, Chris felt Jim grab her hand took her behind the firing crew so they couldn't be seen.

"Don't tell me we're running away in the line of battle!" Christine yelled over the shots ringing through the air. "Didn't they teach you that in the academy?"

 "Yes." He responded. A laser beam zipped past between the two of them. "They also told us not to get killed!" Suddenly, a huge bat-like alien came up behind Jim and raised his sword. Before it could come down Jim moved out of the way. He then, took the flintlock and aimed it at the pirate and shot him in the leg, making him collapse. Jim and Christine ran down below the ship and into their sleeping quarters. They were both leaning over and gasping for air. Then, Christine felt something wriggle against her shoulder and she turned around and aimed her gun at the little pink blob before her.

She sighed in relief. "Oh, Morph it's just you."

"We thought you were up there." Jim said. Morph shook his head and his head came apart from his body and made a _Bleh! sound. "Yeah I guess that would be suicide." Jim agreed. _

The noise had grown louder above deck and Christine's will to fight was shrinking and she couldn't ignore the pain anymore. She leaned up against one of the poles holding up a bunk and slid down to the floor. She closed her eyes and tried to sit as still as possible. But then, she jerked when she heard a clatter just outside the room. The pirates were coming for her. She knew that their main priority was to kill her and then have some fun slaughtering the rest of the crew. 

A pirate came to the door way with his flintlock in hand and aimed it at Christine. Jim then jumped in between them and aimed his gun at the rogue. "Leave her alone!" he said challengingly.

The pirate chuckled. "I wouldn't do anything stupid, boy. It's not you I'm after anyway. If you would move aside and give me the girl then I'll think about letting you live."

Jim raised his laser gun and aimed it between his angry red eyes. "You aren't putting one claw on her." Before Jim could react, another pirate showed up at the door and fired at him, getting him in his shoulder. He grabbed his arm and Jim fell to one knee, dropping the gun in pain. Christine's gut did a triple flip when she saw Jim get shot. She wanted to run to his side but knew that she would just be at risk of getting shot too. 

The second pirate aimed at Jim again and in a serious and raspy voice said, "And the next one won't miss." Christine closed her eyes and mentally told herself that it was just another nightmare. But, she wasn't waking up. When she heard the pirate cock the gun her eyes shot open. He was about to kill Jim and there wasn't anything that she could do about it. _Wait! There is something I can do about it! She thought. She reached over and grabbed the laser gun. Christine held it tightly and she began to shake. She had never used a gun or killed another living thing in her life. What was she going to do? She couldn't let Jim die. She heard the evil chuckle of the pirate as he was only seconds away from firing. _

Just then, something in Christine snapped. She stood up and told Jim to duck and he did. She aimed and fired on the pirate. He stood there for awhile in shock and then collapsed face first onto the floor dead. Chris stared at the body with wide eyes as did Jim. She had killed something for the first time and it was a person. She looked up at the other pirate, narrowing her eyes and taking aim. The pirate looked down at his comrade and back up at Christine. "The chick's packed!" he yelled. Christine fired at the pirate but only nipped his side. But, it was enough to make him wince and fall to the ground. Christine turned and helped Jim up.

"You okay?" That was a dumb question. Of course he wasn't okay. But, still he nodded despite the truth. "Come on! We have to get out of here!" She put his arm around her shoulder and as they walked by the bleeding pirate she pointed her gun at him as a warning. 

Jim looked over towards the steps leading up to the deck. "Do you hear that?" 

Christine listened closely but didn't hear a thing. "No." 

Without changing his gaze he said. "Exactly."

Many thoughts ran through her head. What if the crew were all captured or worst? That would mean that Christine and Jim would be left to defend themselves and they were both wounded badly. They limped together up the stairs and carefully looked around the upper deck. Bewildered expressions came across their faces when they saw the pirates tied up around the bottom of the mast. "Is that all of them, Mr. Starling." Amelia asked the first mate. 

"I believe so, ma'am." He looked a bit messed up and sounded as though he was out of breath. "But, unfortunately a majority of them escaped during the retreat." 

"What happened?" Jim asked.

Captain Amelia's ears perked up when she heard Jim's voice. "Mr. Hawkins there you are. We weren't sure what happened to you." She tried to sound as serious and formal as possible but Jim knew that she was really worried about him. "Luckily we were prepared for this kind of thing. The pirates were strong but we had the upper hand when it came to ammo."

B.E.N. peeked out of a barrel. "Is…is…is it over?" Everyone nodded trying not to laugh. He hopped out of the barrel and looked triumphant. "Ha! Too bad! I was only getting started! Those yellow bellied cowards! Those barnacles of a pirate crew! Those…" He cut off when he looked over at the tied up pirates who were glaring at him. "Those…kind, sweet, good to their mother pirates whom we all know and love…"

"Jim," Dr. Doppler said, "you're wounded! But, how did that happen if you weren't up here with us?"

Jim and Christine smiled to one another. "It's complicated, Doc." Christine said.

"Well, I better fix that arm up right away! And Christine, you know you're wounds are still healing. You shouldn't even be up!" Dr. Doppler grabbed his medical bag and helped Christine help Jim down to the sick bay. 

Christine did as Delbert told her and she got into bed but she wanted to sit up and make sure Jim was alright. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees as Dr. Doppler fixed the wound. Jim took off his shirt and winced every time the doctor touched any area of his arm. Christine couldn't hide the red from her face as she stared at Jim's bare chest. He wasn't overly muscular or scrawny. He was just perfectly fit and toned. Just as she thought he would be after going through so much academy training. She looked away when she felt her face grow warmer after thinking about the "take off your shirt" thing back at the Benbow. Now he was really doing it. She would never erase that from her mind and she wondered if Jim ever thought about what she said when he looked at her. Most likely not. He would never bring that up. He was just too nice of a guy to humiliate her like that. 

After Dr. Doppler fixed his arm, Jim went right to sleep in the sick bay in a bunk next to Christine's. He was too tired to talk about the day's events with her. She really didn't want to discuss it anyway. Chris just couldn't sleep knowing that she had taken a life with a single shot. She knew that would probably have to do something like that if she was going to save her brother. But, still the thought bothered her. Even though the man was a pirate and part of Donovan's crew, she still didn't see anything right in tacking his life like that. He was a rogue. But, he was also a living being. 

***

A/N: (All fan girls noses start to bleed and they blush before collapsing) I'm a fan girl myself. So, I just had to put a nice Jim upper body shot in the story just to make the fan girls and myself happy. The whole thing about Chris shooting the pirate is a bit of symbolism to war. But, it is an important part of the story too. Please R&R! Love ya'll!


	6. A Lesson in Fighting

A/N: (Author pokes her head out from behind the curtain to make sure no one has a gun. She smiles and is just about to speak but a large tomato knocks her down) Okay…I guess I deserved that. Sorry about keeping you guys waiting so long. I really am. It's just that I'm working on another Treasure Planet fic at the same time, I have school, My family came down to visit, I have algebra homework every night, and unfortunately I have to find time to sleep and breathe. So, here is chapter 6!!! (Walks off stage but trips on the tomato juice and falls down again)

***

Christine was swabbing the deck and cleaning up the mess left by the ambush. She didn't even notice that she had been cleaning that same spot for half an hour. So many other things were going around in her head. She had shot someone. Christine surprised herself for feeling so sorry for the pirate. She didn't even know who he was. But, still the first shot she ever took was not meant for him she was saving it for someone who she knew deserved it. She glanced over to see Morph playing around in the bubbles in the bucket. He dove into the water and came out covered with suds. He looked like one big clump of snow flakes. He sneezed and the bubbles flew of him in all directions. He playfully chased after the bubbles, squealing in delight. The sight of his innocence tore at her heart. His silly games and pranks reminded Christine of her brother, Sam. 

Like the morning of the day he was abducted from the Benbow. He had come into her room, yelling excitedly, and jumping up and down. The image of her brother with his home-made pirate hat and wooden sword popped into her head. A sad smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She wanted so much to have her brother back in her arms again safe and sound. She fought back the tears and replaced the thoughts of the past with thoughts of the future. She knew Donovan was tricky and heartless. He would do anything to get rid of her, Sammy, and everyone else in order to keep the treasure. How she was going to go about doing this was a mystery to her and the rest of the crew. 

Jim came up from below deck to get to his watch duties bit stopped dead when he saw Chris. Her back was turned to him, but he knew that her face was sad and upset. He remembered that morning she hadn't said anything to him. She wouldn't even make eye contact with him. Jim knew that she was still shaken by the fact that she had taken a life. In the academy he was told that sometime in his life as a spacer he was going to probably end up killing someone. But, Christine wasn't. He took a deep breath and walked over to her.

Christine was so lost in thought she didn't even notice him coming up behind her. Jim carefully reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and yelped in response. With out looking at who it was, she took the mop and whacked Jim over the head. She dropped the mop when she saw it was Jim and the apologies started up. 

"Jim!" she said sitting down the mop, "I'm so, so, so sorry. I was thinking about pirates and Donovan and..."

Jim shook his head. "Deja vu." He stated.

A smile lit up her face and Jim was happy that he had mad her smile. "You know, you are very good at sneaking up on people."

"I should really try to remember that." Jim said, wringing out the water in his hair from the mop. "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't mean to scare you…again."

Morph came up and changed into a miniature of Jim with soaking hair. Christine giggled and Jim gave him a threatening sidelong glance. Christine loved it when Jim tried to make her feel better because every time, just for an instant, she forgot about all the bad things happening. Jim opened his mouth to say something but he seemed to be hesitant about what he needed to say. But, she could already predict what he needed to know. 

"Uh…Chris?" Jim finally said. "Are you doing alright?"

Christine looked down onto the deck. She wanted to forget about shooting the pirate. But, she knew that that was impossible. She wasn't mad at Jim for asking her. In fact, she wanted to talk about it. She wanted to tell him how guilty she felt. Christine looked back up at Jim and smiled. "A little. Can I ask you something?"

Jim shrugged. "Sure."

Chris pressed her lips together. "Is it considered a crime to kill someone in self-defense?"

Jim's expression became soft and thoughtful. He placed his hands on her shoulders and took a step closer and looked her in the eye. Christine could feel her face turning red again. She could barely feel his breath on her face. Why did she always do this? She didn't like Jim_ that way. So, why did she always become so flustered around him? But, of course, she never did too well around guys before. Except for…_

Jim interrupted her thoughts. "Chris, what you did was not a crime. If you hadn't of pulled that trigger, I wouldn't be alive right now."

Christine turned away from Jim and walked over to the railing. She looked out at the stars but they became blurry from the tears that she had been fighting back. Half of her knew what Jim said was right. "If you weren't in serious danger, Jim, I would have never shot him." He voice had become cracked and soft, "I knew I would probably be faced with something like this when we started this voyage. But, I never thought that it would really happen. Not now. I wanted to save that shot for Donovan. The man who I knew deserved it and maybe even worse punishment."

Jim understood. The only person that she wanted revenge on was Donovan. He wasn't sure exactly what that pirate did to make Christine's life so miserable before he met her. But, he would do anything in his power to help. He walked over to Christine and wrapped his right arm around her shoulder. Christine caught her breath and then relaxed. She leaned a bit over towards Jim to rest her head on his shoulder. The cool calm etherium winds blew across the ship, filling the solar sails.

Suddenly, Jim had an idea. It was a long shot idea. But, it would probably help Chris. "Hey, Chris." He said.

Christine took her head off of his shoulder and looked at him with curiosity. "What?"

A smirk played across Jim's lips that made Christine take a step back. "Have you ever been in a fight before?"

She scratched her head. "A fight? Well…there was this one time. But, before anything could happen the teacher came out and put an end to it. Why?"

Jim smiled. "Maybe I could teach you a few things that they taught us in the academy."

Christine gave him a look. "Jim, in case you haven't noticed, I am physically incapable of fighting."

He chuckled. "No, you're not. Besides, if something like this happens again, you'll be ready. I know you don't want to take another life. But, if you want to protect yourself and the people you care about, then you have to know what you can do. I bet you are capable of doing anything. You just haven't tried." Christine knew Jim was right. If she was ever going to get her revenge, she would have to fight back as hard as she could without shedding anymore tears. 

She rubbed the trails left by the tears off of her face. "Alright, Jim Hawkins. Teach me what you know." Jim's smile lit up and he picked up the mop and bucket to set them aside out of the way. 

"Okay, first of all," Jim started, "You need to know how to predict your enemy's moves. This is especially crucial when you're unarmed." Christine had found a barrel to sit on while she listened closely. "Learn from your mistakes. If they get you with a punch or kick then keep that move in mind so that you will know to dodge it next time. Also, don't get scared even under the most dangerous conditions. If you keep your cool then you won't do anything stupid that could get you killed. And it doesn't matter if the enemy is ten feet tall and really muscular. Those guys are all brawn and don't have the agility to keep up."

Christine was making sure to make mental notes of all the information Jim was giving her. He also showed her how to quickly whip out your weapon before the enemy could react in time, how to use her head, and even showed her some moves. He would kick the air and she would do the same thing. He would punch an invisible enemy and she would too. He did some other moves and she did the same but after a kick and a punch she posed into a matrix position, crouching tiger, and messed up her hair and pouted out her lips and pretended to hold a gun. 

Jim smiled and rolled his eyes. "Ha-ha. Very funny. Really…really cute." 

Christine became serious again and they began practicing some more. Morph curled up in pile of rope and fell asleep as they practiced for about another two hours. Finally, sleep began to beckon them both and they agreed to wait till tomorrow to continue. Christine told him that he could go on and that she just wanted to watch the stars for just a little while longer. Jim nodded and went below deck. Christine's arms and legs were achy and she pulled a muscle from practicing kicks. But, she didn't tell Jim. She searched the sky and found a star. It was a blue looking star that was flickering in the etherium sky. She lifted up her shirt sleeve and glanced down at the blue star tattoo on her arm. She smiled sadly and she covered it up again. Christine looked back at the star. The glittering blue star. Her blue star. 


End file.
